Kidney involvement has been poorly investigated in SARS-CoV-2 Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). To analyze the spectrum of renal involvement in MIS-C, we performed a ...single-center retrospective observational study including all MIS-C patients diagnosed at our Pediatric Department between April 2020 and May 2022. Demographic, clinical, pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission’s need and laboratory data were collected at onset and after 6 months. Among 55 MIS-C patients enrolled in the study, kidney involvement was present in 20 (36.4%): 13 with acute kidney injury (AKI) and 7 with isolated tubular dysfunction (TD). In eight patients, concomitant AKI and TD was present (AKI-TD). AKI patients needed higher levels of intensive care (PICU: 61.5%, p < 0.001; inotropes: 46.2%, p = 0.002; second-line immuno-therapy: 53.8%, p < 0.001) and showed lower levels of HCO3- (p = 0.012), higher inflammatory markers neutrophils (p = 0.092), PCT (p = 0.04), IL-6 (p = 0.007) as compared to no-AKI. TD markers showed that isolated TD presented higher levels of HCO3- and lower inflammatory markers than AKI-TD. Our results indicate a combination of both pre-renal and inflammatory damage in the pathogenesis of kidney injury in MIS-C syndrome. We highlight, for the first time, the presence of tubular involvement in MIS-C, providing new insights in the evaluation of kidney involvement and its management in this condition.
Pediatric esophageal dysphagia (PED) is an infrequent condition that can be determined by a large number of disorders. The etiologic diagnosis is challenging due to overlapping clinical phenotypes ...and to the absence of pediatric diagnostic guidelines. This review aims to summarize the most relevant causes of ED during childhood, highlight the clinical scenarios of PED presentation and discuss the indications of available diagnostic tools. Available information supports that PED should always be investigated as it can underlie life-threatening conditions (e.g., foreign body ingestion, mediastinal tumors), represent the complication of benign disorders (e.g., peptic stenosis) or constitute the manifestation of organic diseases (e.g., eosinophilic esophagitis, achalasia). Therefore, the diagnosis of functional PED should be made only after excluding mucosal, structural, or motility esophageal abnormalities. Several clinical features may contribute to the diagnosis of PED. Among the latter, we identified several clinical key elements, relevant complementary-symptoms and predisposing factors, and organized them in a multi-level, hierarchical, circle diagram able to guide the clinician through the diagnostic work-up of PED. The most appropriate investigational method(s) should be chosen based on the diagnostic hypothesis: esophagogastroduodenoscopy has highest diagnostic yield for mucosal disorders, barium swallow has greater sensitivity in detecting achalasia and structural abnormalities, chest CT/MR inform on the mediastinum, manometry is most sensitive in detecting motility disorders, while pH-MII measures gastroesophageal reflux. Further studies are needed to define the epidemiology of PED, determine the prevalence of individual underlying etiologies, and assess the diagnostic value of investigational methods as to develop a reliable diagnostic algorithm.
Objectives:
Infliximab (IFX) is widely used in patients with refractory Takayasu arteritis (TAK). Recently, the IFX-biosimilar CT-P13 has been introduced for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. ...The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of CT-P13 in patients with refractory TAK.
Methods:
In this prospective, open-label, single-center trial, TAK patients either already on treatment with IFX-originator (switch group) or never treated with IFX (naïve group) received CT-P13 for 52 weeks. The primary outcomes of the study were: (i) number of patients with active disease at month 6; (ii) incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events at month 12. Disease activity was assessed at month 6 and month 12 by clinical evaluation (ITAS-2020, ITAS-ESR, and ITAS-CRP scores) and imaging assessment magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and (18F)-FDG-PET.
Results:
23 patients were recruited (21 switch, 2 naïve). At baseline, 7 patients (32%) were classified as active. At month 6, one patient voluntarily dropped out and 7 patients were still active (30%), including one patient started on a different bDMARD at month 2 due to poor disease control. Mean daily dose of prednisone equivalent was significantly lower than baseline (4.2 ± 1.9 mg vs. 4.8 ± 2.1 mg,
p
= 0.009). At month 12, another patient was excluded because of pregnancy desire. Five patients were classified as active (24%), including two patients started on a different bDMARD at month 2 and month 6. Mean daily dose of prednisone equivalent was significantly lower than baseline (3.3 ± 2.6,
p
= 0.034). No patient experienced side effects during CT-P13 infusion. Overall, one patient experienced grade 1 adverse event and 9 patients experienced grade 2 adverse events. In no case hospitalization was required. CT-P13 retention rate was 90.9% at month 6 and 90.4% at month 12.
Conclusion:
In this study, the use of IFX-biosimilar CT-P13 in patients with refractory TAK showed satisfying efficacy and safety profile.
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